Nexus-Ness partners participated in the 2-day online Master Class organized and executed by Xenia Schneider from XPRO Consuting Limited on 6-7 september, 2021. All Consortium team members were initiated to the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and the Innovation Ecosystem Methodology for the socio-cultural and behavioral change needed to transition to WEFE Nexus strategies. This training event illustrated the Water, Energy, Food Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus transition stages, steps, and tools for creating the NEXUS Ecosystem Labs (NELs) of the NEXUS-NESS project. Stakeholder participatory methods were the subject of training to support the NEL transition and vision. Nexus-Ness partners were trained to transfer into the NEL the selected participatory methods like Structured Democratic Dialogue and World Café. This methodology will enable NEL multidisciplinary stakeholders to reach a co-defined WEFE-Nexus vision.
The master class provided as documented:
- Introduction to NEXUS-NESS WEFE-Nexus Concept
- WP2: Introduction to the Nexus Innovation Ecosystem Laboratories (NELs) – Moving towards WEFE Transition with the Stakeholders
- Why Responsible Research and Innovation is necessary in WEFE-Nexus – What is it, why we need it and how to apply it
- Walk through of the NEL Innovation Ecosystem Approach and its tools with a participatory exercise: Apply the Grand Challenge Mapping Sheet in each NEL – 4 teams and a Presentation of each NEL Grand Challenge Mapping Results
- Learn to use the World Cafe method that all NEL workshops will run
- Introduction to all other NEXUS-NESS WPs
- A communication kit for the stakeholders.
After the master class, individual NEL meetings were held to enable the NEL-Leaders to identify and start engaging their stakeholders. Stakeholder mappings were prepared (D2.2). Intensive preparations for organising and executing the 1st NEL workshops were guided by XPRO with each NEL separately based on the local NEL conditions and needs of each NEL-leader and team. Dedicated invitations with suitable graphics per NEL were led by XPRO involving DDATA and all NEL-leaders.